50 Best Teenage Footballers in the World Right Now

50 Best Teenage Footballers in the World Right Now

The future of football looks to be in good hands when one looks at the amount of talented teenagers making their name throughout the world.

We are looking at teenagers, which means they all have to be between the ages of 13-19 and, since that is the case, some players who just made it to age 20 will not be on this list. No exceptions.

Also, we are looking at players who will still be 19 at least by the start of most seasons.

Some of these teenagers are well on their way, while the progress of others has been a bit slower, but they all have plenty of potential. Players who had lots of hype but faltered a bit are still included as it can be harder for them to adapt to situations compared to their experienced colleagues.

A list like this can be never-ending but we really tried to find the best, or in some cases the most highly regarded, 50 teenagers in World Football. If you feel any are missing, add in you comments below.

Jon Flanagan

2 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: English

John Flanagan is another young British defender who has some first-team experience for his side with 15 appearances to his name.

The right-back has a lot of competition in the form of Martin Kelly and Glen Johnson but if he continues to improve, it will only be a matter of time before he becomes a full-time starter for the Reds.

Raphael Varane

3 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: French

Raphael Varane, far right in your picture, put in some solid performances for Real Madrid when he was used last season. The French youngster rang up 15 appearances in all and added two goals in the process

Varane is an extremely talented defender with good height and certainly has a bright future.

Nathaniel Chalobah

4 of 50

Age: 17

Nationality: English

Nathaniel Chalobah signed his first professional contract at the beginning of this year and is one of Chelsea's brightest prospects.

Chalobah can play in defense or midfield and was a major part of the club's FA Youth Cup success.

Kevin Volland

Hoffenheim's German striker Kevin Volland spent last season on loan at TSV 1860 Munich, scoring 20 goals in 32 appearances for the Bundesliga II squad.

Last season he scored six goals and had four assists in 24 appearances. Volland will be looking to translate those skills into Germany's top division and has a pretty good platform to build on.

Ezekiel Fryers

12 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: English

Ezekiel Fryers is reportedly set for a move to Tottenham this summer. The young defender made a few appearances for Manchester United's first team last season and was solid enough to attract Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas' attention.

Denis Suarez

13 of 50

Age: 18

Nationality: Spanish

Manchester City beat Barcelona to sign Denis Suarez last summer, and that sort of interest shows just how highly rated the young Spanish midfielder is.

Suarez made one appearance for the team last season in the Carling Cup, but much is expected for the City prospect.

Jon Toral

14 of 50

Age: 17

Nationality: Spanish

Arsenal signed Jon Toral from Barcelona's La Masia academy last year, and he could very well follow the same route as Cesc Fabregas.

Nick Powell

Manchester United beat out a lot of competition to sign Crewe Alexandra's Nick Powell. The youngster had an impressive season in League Two, racking up 16 goals and eight assists in 45 appearances.

With Sir Alex Ferguson set to play a major role in his development, Powell could be a major star in the future.

Rafa "Rafinha" Alcantara

16 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: Brazil/Spain dual

Rafa Alcantara, or Rafinha, is the younger brother of Barcelona's burgeoning star Thiago Alcantara. Rafinha made a few appearances for Barcelona in the 2011/12 season but spent the majority of his time in the Segunda division with "Barcelona B."

The youngster has great potential and is set to follow in the footsteps of his brother.

Connor Wickham

There was a lot of hype surrounding Connor Wickham during his time at Ipswich Town, but the youngster had a disappointing debut season with Sunderland in the Premier League.

Wickham has been a regular in the English youth setup and still has plenty of time to fulfill his potential, especially with a manager like Martin O'Neill to work with for the time being.

Romelu Lukaku

19 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: Belgian

Romelu Lukaku is another player who had a disappointing debut season, but with the amount of talent the young Belgian has, it's only a matter of time before he returns to the form that had so many clubs interested in his services.

Lukaku is a powerful young attacker in the mold of his idol Didier Drogba and certainly has a bright future in front of him.

Paul Pogba

20 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: French

Paul Pogba recently moved from Manchester United to Juventus after making a few appearances for the Red Devils' first team last season.

Andy Polo

29 of 50

Age: 17

Nationality: Peru

Andy Polo is Peru's brightest prospect and with good reason. He made his full-team debut at the age of 16 and the youngster's skills, namely pace and finishing, attracted attention across Europe. He was linked to a variety of top clubs.

Ryo Miyaichi

37 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: Japan

Ryo Miyaichi was impressive during his loan spell at Bolton and before then during his time at Feyenoord. The Japanese winger has pace and skills in abundance and will look to hone those skills even further when he returns to Arsenal.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

38 of 50

Age: 18

Nationality: English

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's meteoric rise continued with some good moments at the recently concluded Euro 2012.

Oxlade-Chamberlain is not lacking in confidence and showed that time and again with Arsenal last season. He ended the season with 26 appearances and four goals as well as two assists in all competitions.

Gerard Deulofeu

39 of 50

Age: 18

Nationality: Spanish

Gerard Deulofeu is one of the many future stars at Barcelona. Like many up-and-comers, speed and dribbling are a major part of the young winger's game, and he has a chance to really hone those skills while working with the likes of Lionel Messi and company.

Hachim Mastour

40 of 50

Age: 14

Nationality: Italy/ Lebanese Moroccan descent

If you haven't heard this name before, you probably will not forget it after. This Goal.com article presents basically all you need to know, for now, about this young wonderkid. Below are a few highlights:

It took a reported €500,000 for AC Milan to fight off esteemed competition to sign 14-year-old Hachim Mastour...

In January 2012, he took part in the Memorial Ielasi tournament with Inter and proved just how talented he is, scoring five goals including one in the final against Roma...

Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester City (who also offered accommodation for the player's family) began to hound Dario Paolillo, Mastour's representative and the son of famous agent Gaetano Paolillo, who has Kaka among his affiliated players...

The technical quality of this little phenomenon is undeniable. The way in which he can caress and control the ball at speed, and then protect it from the opposition, speaks of a player with skills far above his years, and brings to mind Juan Roman Riquelme.

While many folks have probably yet to see this youngster play, the amount of competition for his signature signifies the incredible talent this player is believed to possess.

Lucas Moura

41 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: Brazil

Lucas Moura, better known as Lucas, has been linked to a lot of top European clubs (via footballtransferleague.co.uk), and the reasons are obvious. Lucas has an huge amount of potential and is one of Brazil's best prospects.

Juan Iturbe

42 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: Argentina

Juan Iturbe is another South American talent who is highly rated. These talents can have tough seasons, as was the case for Iturbe at Porto last year, but their potential does not get lost over night.

Whether Iturbe moves on or stays at Porto, he will begin to show the kind of skills that had clubs trying to get him in the first place.

Jano Ananidze

43 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: Georgia

Georgia's Jano Ananidze has been a part of Spartak Moscow's first-team setup since 2009. He is one of the up-and-coming playmakers in the world game and will soon begin to really make his mark on a bigger stage.

Khouma Babacar

44 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: Senegalese

Khouma Babacar is a talented Senegalese striker, with power being one of the main parts of his game. Babacar has yet to hit the heights that are expected of him but could be a real force if he is developed properly.

Ouasim Bouy

45 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: Netherlands

Juventus signed Ajax wonderkid Ouasim Bouy in January. The former Ajax midfielder had yet to play a game for the first team, yet the Italian club was sufficiently impressed with his skills at the youth level to get him before all others.

Alvaro Morata

46 of 50

Age: 19

Nationality: Spanish

Alvaro Morata is another player within the Real Madrid youth setup who will be hoping to make his mark at the club despite all the quality in front of him.

Real Madrid's website calls him "quick and skillful. He is a good dribbler and always showcases character. He has been the top scorer of all the team's he's been on."

Adam Maher

47 of 50

Age: 18

Nationality: Netherlands/Morocco dual

Adam Maher had a breakout season in the Eredivisie with 11 goals in 36 games from midfield. The youngster has logged significant playing time with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar over the past two seasons and will only get better if that continues.